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Maybe it’s his good looks. His charms. Maybe it’s the fact that Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat and son of liberal icon Mario Cuomo, has talked and walked like a fiscal conservative during his first 100 days in office.

Whatever the reason, three elected Republicans at last night’s town hall meeting in Salem praised Cuomo for the recently passed state budget and for turning the state around.

“It was a big surprise, because we haven’t done it before, because we finally got a budget on time,” said Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury.

Assemblyman Tony Jordan, R-Jackson, explained why.

“There are some good things happening in New York. We got an on-time budget, in large part because the governor said, here’s my spending bill. And then he partnered with Dean Skelos and his team — which Betty is a major part of — and said, ‘This is my spending point. This is as much as we’re going to spend,’ ” he said. “That is a tremendous change from what I’ve seen in recent years and that’s been a real positive going forward.”

Rep. Chris Gibson, who headlined the Tuesday evening forum, said this morning on WGDJ that there is “symbiosis” between Cuomo’s agenda and his own.

“I’m supportive. I think New York State is moving in the right direction,” he said.

About Capitol Confidential

Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.